High Court expected to make ruling in landmark legal case over NI abortion laws

Thursday, 3 October 2019 06:29

By Hannah Spratt @Radio_han

By Q Radio News

The Belfast High Court will deliver a landmark judgment on a case that could find Northern Ireland’s abortion law in breach of the UK’s human rights commitments.

Amnesty International is an intervenor in the case and has supported Sarah Ewart - a woman who was forced to travel to England for an abortion after being told her pregnancy had a fatal foetal diagnosis - to bring her case to the court.

If the court rules in favour, it will deliver a formal ‘declaration of incompatibility’*, confirming that Northern Ireland’s abortion law is incompatible with the UK’s human rights obligations

Grainne Teggart, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland campaign manager, said:

“This case has come at a crucial moment for abortion rights in Northern Ireland. We’re on the cusp of seeing decriminalisation, which will bring to an end healthcare being treated as a criminal justice matter.

“If the court rules that Northern Ireland’s abortion law violates the UK’s human rights commitments, it will effectively confirm that for generations we’ve been denied our rights. Living under the shackles of an inhumane and oppressive law has caused harm to so many.

“The UK Government will also be faced with a new and urgent pressure to ensure our rights are realised and reform is swiftly and effectively implemented.”

“The Northern Ireland Office must swiftly put in place regulations to enable access to free, safe, legal and local abortion services in Northern Ireland. This change has been a long time coming.

Sarah Ewart, who travelled for a termination following a fatal foetal diagnosis said:

“I’m doing this for me and the many other women who have suffered under Northern Ireland’s hurtful abortion law. We need the judge to make clear that the law breaches mine and other women’s rights.

“This must be the last time a woman is put through the agonising court process because she needs access to a healthcare service that is freely available elsewhere. We need change to come quickly.”